by Daniel Gibbs
"A medium cargo hauler."
"Right. Needs a crew of about a dozen, give or take a few. But her former master's got his license suspended for that meteor screw-up, she can't make orbit, and the owner's desperate to sell since she's collecting hangar fees and not paying out, and he can't afford repairs to get her spaceworthy again."
Henry thought he could see where his uncle was going with this. He asked for the offered price. After hearing the answer, he sighed. "My pension payout won't cover that."
"Didn't think it would. But can it cover half?"
"Uncle?"
"I've worked this job since you were knee-high, Jim," Charlie said. "Taking care of ships and knowing how to put them back together, I can do that. But I know my limits, and flying her, that's not something I can do. But you can."
Henry looked at the earnest expression on his uncle's face. Then he looked back to the worn ship. He understood what his uncle was asking. And as he pondered it, he loved the idea. A chance to get back out into space, to travel system to system again. To reclaim least one part of his life.
For a moment, he stopped himself. Erhart intended for him to stay on New Virginia as a disgraced exile. What would he do if Henry ended up flying a ship again? As long as I keep my mouth shut, nothing. He doesn't care where I am, or what I do. Henry drew in a breath. The entire thing just brought the pain back. The knowledge that the life he'd been building was gone, had been taken, and he'd been helpless to stop it.
"I know it hurts," Charlie continued. His eyes locked on to Henry's, seeing the doubt in them. And his voice was full of gentle strength. "You feel lost and betrayed. You're wondering 'God, how could you let this happen to me?', and you're wondering what's the point. Now I don't know about God, Jim, but think about yourself and the people you love. Because, my boy, that? That's what matters. This is why we're here. Because me and your parents, we love you, and we'll do what it takes to give you a life back. We'll not have you looking at the family rifle like that again, Jim."
Perhaps it was a reckless thought, maybe a misguided one, to dismiss the reaction from Erhart, but the last week made it clear to Henry that he was doomed if he did nothing. Uncle Charlie had thrown him a lifeline.
And he was going to grasp it.
Henry turned to his uncle and nodded. "Partners, then, Uncle Charlie?" He offered his hand.
"Partners, Jim." Charlie accepted it. "I'll go make the offer to the owner. So, since you'll be flying her, you keeping the name?"
"'Lucky Lacy'?" Henry chuckled. "That name's just asking for trouble." He looked over the ship again, her shape and appearance, and an idea came to him. "But I think Shadow Wolf works pretty well…"
Charlie grinned. "I like it."
Shadow Wolf
Tibald System
Trifid Nebula Region, Neutral Space
1 May 2559
* * *
The Shadow Wolf did not return to Galt with its hold of pireem herbs. They jumped to a closer solar system, Tibald, where Lou Shipping kept a secure space station facility. The docking and unloading went as expected.
Mostly.
Later that day, Henry walked into the main office of the Lou Shipping Tibald Transfer Station. Mr. Lou was waiting at the desk with a grateful Ms. Sharma. "You’ve done well, Captain Henry," Lou said. "Expect a bonus."
"As long as we've earned it," Henry said. "But I think we need to talk about that attack. I've got concerns."
"Oh?" Lou folded his hands together. "I admit I didn't expect trouble from the Jalm'tar side."
"The kind of trouble, that's the important thing. I don't think things were as they seemed. Like how they found us halfway here." He reached into his pocket and pulled out an object, which he tossed to the desk. It was a saucer-shaped device of brown metallic construction, with a diode that was inactive.
"A tracker," Sharma said. "Was it on the Jalm'tar attacker your people killed?"
Henry gave her a sardonic look. "We'd have found it days before the attack in space, Ms. Sharma. No. I just found that tracker here. It was planted in your cargo at Yan'katar."
Lou looked at the object and then to Henry. "Treachery, then?"
"Maybe. But I'm not done." Henry didn't bother taking a seat. "We got jumped by Jalm'tar pirates a week out from Yan'katar. It's clear they were following us. But you know what gets me? They only tried once."
"And this makes you suspicious."
"They were tracking my ship," he said. "We got some fighters and one of their ships, but they had a much bigger force. I kept expecting them to try again, but they didn't. Not once."
There was a pensive look on Lou's face. "That is… interesting, yes."
"And there's more. The attack on Yan'katar itself. It was sloppy. Uncoordinated. In fact, the only thing they accomplished…" At that point, he looked to Sharma. "...was to shoot Ms. Sharma."
"Badly, at least," she said. "They missed all of my vital organs. My luck that I was the victim of a lucky hit."
"No, not luck. Ignorance." Henry handed Lou a digital reader. "My doctor did a little autopsy on the Jalm'tar. To, among other things, familiarize himself with the anatomy. You'll notice what he found."
Lou nodded quietly. He grasped when Henry was saying. "The wound on Ms. Sharma. If she had been Jalm'tar, the shot would have destroyed her heart." Lou looked to her. "You should be dead, Ms. Sharma, and would be had the shooters known Human anatomy."
The woman's face paled slightly. "I see. But… I do not understand."
"Were it not for this, I would say it was possible that I was being tested by the Imperial Representative," Lou said. "By testing my people in combat, and judging me by the mettle you showed. But I see no reason he would have Ms. Sharma killed."
"I agree that it was him, and I think he wanted her silenced." He looked to Sharma. "Why would he?"
"I… I do not see how I offended him," she said. "I was polite and followed the protocols. I did my due diligence for Mr. Lou."
"Like, an analysis of the pireem?"
"Yes. I…" Sharma blinked. "It couldn't be that, could it?"
"Why would it?" Lou asked.
"Probably because her people found what mine did." Henry put his hands behind his back. "When your people broke the seal to examine the herbs, and I found that tracker, my doctor got a look at them as well. So he did some investigation. Got a scan. He figures they'll do as advertised, but a bit more."
Lou folded his hands and said nothing, despite Henry's brief silence to allow him a chance to speak. Sharma was the one to reply. "I did not have time to read the report. It came out the morning you landed," she said to Henry. "And I left it in my helicar. What did you find?"
"The biochemistry of the herbs includes compounds with chemical similarity to strong opioids," Henry said. "So yeah, they'll fight infection, help heal wounds. But over time, they become addictive. Oskar believes it would be intensely so."
Lou gave Sharma an intent look. She shook her head. "I did not see any indication of this. Pireem is used extensively for medical purposes by all of the species that exist on Yan'katar."
"Still, I heard nothing of this from Hrik'ma," Lou said. "Did you?"
"No. Could he have not known?"
"The autopsy would indicate otherwise," Lou remarked, his expression growing dark. "The Jalm'tar showed traces of the herb in his blood, but had no pre-battle injuries or evident illness. This indicates he used the pireem to alleviate an addiction." He handed Henry the reader back. "It is entirely possible I am being played for a fool, Ms. Sharma."
There was an edge in Sharma's voice, and for a moment, Henry thought he saw fear show through her stoic expression. Not just the pale fear from earlier, when she realized how she'd avoided death only from a shooter's aim being deadly to Jalm'tar and not Humans, but a deeper, immediate fear. "I saw no indications, sir, I swear. He seemed genuinely interested in making a business deal."
"But only for his herbs," Lou noted. He looked to Henry. "What do you think, Captain?
"
Henry wasn't often asked his opinion by quadrillionaires like Lou, but he showed no hesitation in answering, "I think His Excellence sep Hrik'ma is playing a deeper game. The pirate attacks were to test your capabilities through me, sure. But I also think it was to make things look good to us. Make the herbs seem even more valuable that pirates would chase us halfway to Human space for them. And he certainly wanted Ms. Sharma dead, probably to prevent you from getting that report. I'd say he wants those herbs released to our worlds without us knowing what they can really do."
Sharma frowned at his assessment, an understandable reaction since it magnified her failure to not detect Hrik'ma's ulterior motives.
Lou remained quiet for several moments.
He finally broke into a low chuckle.. "I can see that I was not wrong to hire you, Captain. You certainly have a mind for intrigue. Earned, I'm sure. Anyway, I think you have quite earned a bonus, Captain Henry. And, perhaps, a more, established employment?"
Henry responded to that offer with a wry smile. "My crew and I are independent, Mister Lou, and we prefer it that way. If you need us for another 'simple mission,' let us know, and we'll consider it. But I won't be signing on any permanent employment contract."
Lou's smile matched Henry's. "A pity. I could make you a very wealthy man. But I respect your need for independence. It's an admirable quality that's much in demand." He gestured to the door. "You will receive the full promised remuneration with a bonus before your ship departs, Captain. Congratulations on a job well done."
"Thank you, Mister Lou. A pleasure doing business with you." With that, Henry departed the office and headed back to the Shadow Wolf, another job done, another job under his belt, and more of both undoubtedly to come.
THE END
The adventures of Captain James Henry continue in Breach of Peace; Book One in the new Breach of Faith series. Can Captain Henry foil the League, save his crew, and keep what’s left of his morality intact? Find out in Breach of Peace.
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Also Available from Daniel Gibbs
Echoes of War
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Stand Firm
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* * *
Book 1 - Fight the Good Fight
Book 2 - Strong and Courageous
Book 3 - So Fight I
Book 4 - Gates of Hell
Book 5 - Keep the Faith
* * *
Breach of Faith
(With Gary T. Stevens)
* * *
Book 1 - Breach of Peace
Acknowledgements
Author’s Acknowledgements
* * *
I thank Daniel Gibbs for the opportunity to write in his setting and the freedoms he granted in letting me craft the worlds and people in this story. My thanks also to friends who've been understanding as I embarked on this writing project, to the editor who put up with some of the specialized SF terms I use, and to Gibbs' beta-reader who provided valuable input on the original draft's weaknesses that helped me craft a better, stronger story.
* * *
My thanks to Uncle Tim, who's always wanted to see me write professionally. Consider this another step on that road, Uncle. ;-)
* * *
Also my thanks to the members of The Sietch web forum on putting up with my query when it came time to assign a proper title, even if it wasn’t used in the end.
* * *
- Gary T. Stevens
